Cherie celebrates her 50th and a lucrative US book tour

By Jane Mulkerrins

12:01AM BST 13 Sep 2004

Cherie Blair celebrated her 50th birthday at the weekend with an informal party at Chequers.

Eighty friends, family members and professional colleagues joined the Blairs for the celebration. They included: Sir Jackie Stewart, the former motor racing champion; Lord Falconer; Lord Levy and his wife, Gilda, and Melvyn Bragg and his wife, Cate Haste - the co-author of Mrs Blair's forthcoming book about prime ministers' consorts, The Goldfish Bowl.

Guests were greeted with champagne and trays of canapés, including smoked salmon and exotic cheeses.

Dinner was served at several large tables, where the mood was "relaxed, friendly and informal", the staff member said, and festivities went on until the small hours. The Prime Minister's wife was determined that the party should not be a formal affair, and while some still opted for black tie and evening dresses, other guests wore lounge suits.

Some of those invited were initially diverted to a Tesco car park in nearby Princes Risborough as 500 pro-hunting protesters blocked the entrance to Chequers.

She is travelling to the US primarily to publicise her book. A spokesman for her US publicists, the Harry Walker agency, said: "She will be speaking on areas to do with her professional and legal expertise."

Frank Dobson, the former Labour health secretary, said reports of Mrs Blair's fees would surprise ordinary party members and voters.

"There will be quite a lot of people, who don't get £30,000 a year with both members of the family working, who will raise their eyebrows at £30,000 for a lecture," he added.